10 Andaman and Nicobar people who tested positive after attending Tablighi event recover

New Delhi: Ten people from the Andaman and Nicobar islands, who tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi last month, have recovered and are being moved to a government quarantine facility for the next 14 days, officials told ET.

The chief medical nodal officer of the UT, Avijit Roy, told ET that the patients, who returned to Port Blair via Kolkata on March 24, have tested negative and will soon be shifted from the GB Pant Hospital in Port Blair, after spending 14 days in the isolation ward. “Their tests have come negative for Covid-19. We have sent their blood samples for regular examination for other parameters, after which their X-Rays will be taken. From tomorrow, they will be shifted to a government quarantine facility.”

Roy said the patients were put on a vegetarian diet, with compulsory vitamin C food such as lemons. “Each of the 10 patients was bubble-wrapped, given insulated room fitted with an AC and TV. There was only one challenge with food as many of them were non-vegetarians. There is no problem with non-vegetarian food. But we wanted to limit the exchange of material between outsiders and hospitals so we went ahead with fruit, tea, rice, daal and vegetables. We also wanted the metabolism to be kept under check.”


Apart from maintaining sufficient hydration, Roy said the patients were given a combination of hydroxychloroquine and Azithral for five days. Two patients with a history of hypertension and diabetes however, did not respond much to the medicines till their other health issues were brought under control, he said.